SINGAPORE -- The U.S. is pushing to raise its profile as a source of coronavirus vaccines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, countering similar Chinese moves and courting a 10-member bloc that is vital to its Indo-Pacific strategy.
The U.S. and China were set to come face to face in the online East Asia Summit foreign ministers meeting Wednesday evening, with the two superpowers expected to lay out their positions on pressing issues including the COVID-19 recovery. Both sides telegraphed their arguments.